Governor Jerry Brown Jr. said Governor's Executive Order B-2-11, issued in January to purge unnecessary vehicles, has already cut the state’s fleet by 3,800, which is expected to save $11.4 million next year and bring in $5 million from auction revenue.
The Governor's Office said the cuts meet approximately 32 percent of the state's goal to reduce 5,500 passenger cars and trucks, and deeper cuts will continue as the state eliminates more unnecessary vehicles across every department.
“Significant progress has been made, but we are not done yet,” Brown said in a statement released by his office. “I’m not satisfied with purging just 3,800 vehicles – state departments can make deeper cuts. Every department must eliminate the unnecessary vehicles that waste taxpayer money. There is no excuse for an excessive state fleet.”
The Department of General Services, charged with implementing the governor’s executive order, estimates this first reduction phase will save the state more than $11 million annually by eliminating surplus cars, trucks, vans, buses and heavy equipment.
Auctioning these vehicles is estimated to bring the state at least $5 million more in additional revenue. The Department of General Services is prepared to begin holding auctions in the fall.
The largest reductions come from the following eight departments, which operate the largest fleets:
California Department of Transportation: 926;
Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation: 795;
California State Parks: 388;
California Highway Patrol: 322;
California Department of Fish & Game: 251;
Cal Fire: 234;
California Department of Water Resources: 204;
California Department of Food & Agriculture: 111.
On average, a state vehicle remains useful for five years and costs $3,000 per year in maintenance, insurance and depreciation costs. Based on those figures, the reductions announced Thursday could save the state up to $57 million over five years, according to the Governor's Office.
The Department of General Services will continue to make even deeper cuts in the coming months to eliminate unnecessary vehicles across every department.
In addition to reducing the size of its state fleet immediately, the state is examining its need for vehicles going forward. This examination will include reviewing how, when and why vehicles are used and will help departments implement more practical and cost-effective plans for the amount and type of vehicles needed to achieve their missions.
Departments also have eliminated more than 600 vehicle home storage permits that are nonessential or cost ineffective, the Governor's Office reported. The Department of General Services expects to eliminate hundreds more.
Since taking office, Brown has implemented a variety of cost-saving measures, including cutting his own office's spending by more than 25 percent, and ordering state agencies and departments to recover millions of dollars in uncollected salary and travel advances, ban spending taxpayer dollars on free giveaway and gift items, eliminate 30,000 cell phones and freeze hiring across state government.
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